Apparatus for stemming and cleaning raisins



,E. NIGHOPF. A APPARATUS FOR STEMMING AND CLEANING RAISINS, 8m.

(No Model.)

Patented May 9, 1893.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ERNEST NICl-IOFF, OF TACOMA, WVASHINGTON.

APPARATUS FOR STEMMING AND CLEANING RAISINS, 80C.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 497,199, dated May 9,1893.

Application filed July 9, 1892. Serial No. 439,495. (No model.) A

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERNEST NIOHOFF, a citizen of the United States,residingat Tacoma, in the county of Pierce and State of \Vashington,haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus forStemming and Cleaning Raisins and Currants; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it e ppertains tomake and use the same.

My invention relates to a portable household machine for removing stemsfrom raisins, currants and other similar fruits and cleaning the same,and it consists in certain novel constructions, combinations andarrangements of parts as will be hereinafter described and claimed,whereby stems can be rapidly and completely removed, and the stemmedraisins and currants thoroughly cleansed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view ofmyimproved apparatus showing means for holding the stemming slats orboards in position and also for adjusting the same and Fig. 2 is avertical section of the same.

A in the drawings represents an outer inclosing and containing case orbox, preferably made of wood and of any suitable dimensions, though thefollowing are dimensions often adoptedz eighteen inches long,

five inches high and fourteen inches wide. The box is provided on theinner surface of its walls'with a groove a and in this groove a stemmingdevice is fitted. y

In the drawings the stemmer is constructed of a series of boards orslats I) made of hard wood or metal and formed with sharp or squareupper edges, said slats being fitted into the side grooves a andconnected together by rods D which are secured at their upper ends inthe head board of the machine, and the lower ends of said rods are screwthreaded and provided with thumb nuts d, whereby the slats can be movedfarther from and nearer to each other accordingly as it is desired tostem small or large fruit. Rubber washers d are placed on the rodsDintermediate each slat or board so that when the slats are adjusted tothe desired position they will be held firmly in position and preventedfrom wabbling. The lowest slatb is made higher than the other slats andis provided with journal ends which fitin the side grooves a so thatraisins or currants will be held on the stemmer during the stemmingoperation. To guard against any accidental movement of the slats orboards, the same are held down by a clamping device E as shown.

When the raisins or currants are moved over the surface of the stemmingdevice B by the hand, the stems will be thoroughly and rapidly removedfrom the fruit, and as the passages F extend nearly the entire width ofthe machine, the stems are free to drop through these passages into thebody of the box while the raisins or currants remain on the stemmer.These passages F are preferably outwardly and downwardly divergent asshown in Fig. 4, which are formed by beveling the sides of the slats orboards as shown. By this construction there will be less liability ofthe stems removed. from the fruit, forming a wedge and clogging up thepassages.

The operation of using my invention is as follows: A baker or otherperson places three or four pounds of raisins or currants on thestemming device and rubs and rolls them over the same. The stems of theraisins are caught by the sharp edges of the slats and are torn off fromthe fruit and fall through the passages between the slats into the bodyof the box below. When the raisins are freed from their stems they maybe washed by pouring water over them and allowing the water to pass offthrough the spaces of the stemmer.

hat I claim as my invention is In a portable household apparatus forremoving stems from raisins the combination with an outer containingstationary frame having grooves on its inner sides to receive and hold astemming device in place, a stemming device formed of a series of spacedportions connected by rods having screw threaded ends, nuts on saidrods, washers interposed between the spaced portions and arranged on therods, and the clamping device E, substantial] y as described.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

ERNEST NIOHOFF.

Witnesses:

B. B. GATTEL, W. A. STERNBERG.

It is hereby certified that the name of the patentee in Letters Patent N0. 497,199,

granted May 9, 1893, for an improvement in Apparatus for Stemming andCleaning Raisins, ete., was erroneously written and printed ErnestNiehoff, Whereas said name should have been Written and printed Ernest.Nt'ehofi, and that the seid Letters Patent should be read withthiscorrection therein that the same may conform to the record of theease in the Patent Office. Signed, countersigned, and sealed this 13thday of June, A. D. 1893.

[SEAL] JNO. M. REYNOLDS,

Assistant Secretary of the Interior. Gountersigned:

J OHN S. SEYMOUR,

Commissioner of Patents.

